void cancelled and special terms applied

greg555a

hi,

QQ

If I had special terms on my home insurance applied on a previous house. (i had subsidance cover removed due to the property, no claims were made) do i need to disclose this to my current house insurance when renewing? it has no connection to my new property and the issue is only with that property. Also may sound daft but when you take out car insurance it asks this same question have you ever had any special terms appled to an insurance policy ? the answer to that is yes in my case but it is completly unrelated to my car insurance would you be required to disclose this to a car insurer?

many thanks.

uk1

If you are asked to disclose whether special terms have been applied to any previous cover, and the answer is "yes" then you are obligated to disclose it but at the same time can take the trouble of explaining your view of it's relevance. Failure to do so by deciding on behalf of the insurers that it isn't relevant, risks finding yourself without cover when you need to make a claim.

The law with respect to disclosure has recently changed but it hasn't gone sufficiently far imho to release you from the very clear obligation to answer every question completely and honestly.

greg555a

thanks for your reply.

so what you are saying, let me put it another way if you have a dog who has had an ilness and special terms are applied to that dog. if you go to anothet insurer and try to insure that dog then of course that would have to be disclosed. if you get another dog. I don't quite understand why you would have disclose the last dogs special terms.

lisyloo

if you get another dog. I don't quite understand why you would have disclose the last dogs special terms.

Precisely - you don't understand insurance, that doesn't mean it's not relevant or that you don't need to answer honestly.


It could come back to cause you issues if you are not honest.
It's not the insurers obligation to explain the relevance of every question to their business model although if you don't like one particular company you are free to choose another.

uk1

Yes. The fact is that insurance disclosure terms offer a sometimes lucrative opportunity for insurers to subsequently decline cover when a claim is made if they feel for a reason of relevance that you may or may not currently understand, should have been declared. The reason why it is also important to comply is that if you answer "no" to a question that you know the correct answer to be "yes" it goes to the heart of "integrity" and "utmost good faith" which is something that might needlessley alarm an insurer, whenever they might find out. I'd discuss this over the phone with an insurer to disclose it and explain your view on it's relevance and confirm the conversation in writing.

The fact that you ask the question indicates to a small degree an uncertainty which therefore implies an obligation to prudently comply. In plain English, you are basically trading a little hassle now for possibility of much more serious hassle in the future at a time when you won't want it. If you need to make a claim they will probably track your cover history when this special term might emerge. Although the rules of disclosure and how they might consequently be resolved have recently relaxed slightly in favour of the insured, it is simply hassle you should avoid.

System

lisyloo wrote: »

Precisely - you don't understand insurance, that doesn't mean it's not relevant or that you don't need to answer honestly.

.

Ok, let me put it this way:


I had a dog and special terms were applied because it's breed was a kind that was prone to a particular condition.


5 years later I want to insure a Ford Focus and they ask "Have you ever had special terms applied to any insurance?"


Do they want know?


A car insurer asks "Have you had any accidents or incidents in the past 5 years, even if you haven't made a claim?"


Do I need to tell them I dropped a spanner in the loo and chipped it a bit?
That I tripped on a mat but didn't break my ankle?


Does a life insurer need to know that I once claimed for a broken windscreen?

lisyloo

and they ask "Have you ever had special terms applied to any insurance?"
Do they want know?

Clearly they do because they are asking.
You might (for example) be a fan of special breeds that are more prone to conditions and therefore prone to more claims so that has a very obvious relevance.

A car insurer asks "Have you had any accidents or incidents in the past 5 years, even if you haven't made a claim?"

Here I do have some sympathy.
Because I could have laddered a pair of tights or chipped a mug I dropped.
No-one has satisfactorily ever told me where one draws the line on this one.

Do I need to tell them I dropped a spanner in the loo and chipped it a bit?
That I tripped on a mat but didn't break my ankle?

Personally I would not IF there were NO consequences as I consider these to be run of the mill things that happen to everyone from time to time, BUT that's just my personal opinion and my version of common sense and not ncessarily what an insurer would expect (but I can't seriously think they expect everyone to remember every pair of tights they laddered).

Does a life insurer need to know that I once claimed for a broken windscreen?

Absolutely because you are one of the people who is aware of what cover you have and makes claims rather than the other sort who forget or don't bother. That's very important information as you are a more expensive customer because you make claims.


However I make the point again, it's NOT a pre-requisite that the relevance is revealed to you. It's imperative you give honest answers whether you see the relevance or not.

uk1

Clifford_Pope wrote: »

Ok, let me put it this way:


I had a dog and special terms were applied because it's breed was a kind that was prone to a particular condition.


5 years later I want to insure a Ford Focus and they ask "Have you ever had special terms applied to any insurance?"


Do they want know?


A car insurer asks "Have you had any accidents or incidents in the past 5 years, even if you haven't made a claim?"


Do I need to tell them I dropped a spanner in the loo and chipped it a bit?
That I tripped on a mat but didn't break my ankle?


Does a life insurer need to know that I once claimed for a broken windscreen?

You answer the question completely that has been asked if you want to avoid being a poster who comes back later to complain about an insurer who has "unfairly" declined a claim.

lisyloo

uk1 wrote: »

You answer the question completely that has been asked if you want to avoid being a poster who comes back later to complain about an insurer who has "unfairly" declined a claim.

Agree,

Insurers aren't known for being magnanimous about claims.
In fact they are generally known for using any possible excuse to wiggle out of paying.


If they find out you've not told the true (relevant or not, reasonable or not) then they won't pay and it will be up to you to dispute.

System

You are seriously saying that in answer to the question when insuring a car "Have you ever made any previous insurance claims or incidents even when a claim was not made?"
an insurer wants a list over my entire life of every single non-motoring accident, incident and mishap?
How long a list do you think that would be for an average person?
Have you ever compiled and submitted such a list yourself?

john432

As above and post 3, lets have some correct advice here.
Does a car insurer need to about a situation (ref post 3) that happened with their pet insurance?